TAKING POSITIVE ACTION
“You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending” - CS Lewis.
We're choosing to LOVE
We're choosing to treat EVERYONE the way we want to be treated
We're choosing to use our platform along with millions of other VOICES so that #georgefloyd is wake-up call [even though the alarm was already ringing]
We're choosing to CHANGE the ending
We have and will continue to share, repost and tag educational resources as much as we can. This is not a moment, this is a movement and we are committed to learning, [& unlearning], spreading love and light, empathizing and aiding in the fight towards racial justice and equality. Below is a curated list of ways from compiled from educational resources outlining how to take positive action in our community and support the Black Lives Matter movement. If anyone would like to send us other ways to donate, support or contribute please email us at info@locallaundry.ca.
DONATE
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GEORGE FLOYD MEMORIAL FUND
The official Go Fund Me page to honour George Floyd. The George Floyd memorial funds will go towards funeral and burial expenses, counselling, travel and court proceedings and assist George Floyd’s family to continue to seek justice for George.
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MINNESOTA FREEDOM FUND
The Minnesota Freedom Fund is a community based non-profit organization that pays criminal bail for individuals who have been arrested for protesting police brutality. Along with your donations, The Minnesota Freedom Fund is always seeking community members who would like to pitch into the cause. If you're an artist, accountant, web developer or you're looking to get involved please reach out to the team at The Minnesota Freedom Fund.
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BLACK VISIONS COLLECTIVE
Committed to dismantling systems of oppression and violence the Black Visions Collective leads by building movements with an integrated model, creating conditions for long term success and transformation in our society. Support the work of Black Visions Collective by donating here.
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RECLAIM THE BLOCK
By organizing policies that strengthen community-led safety initiatives, Reclaim the Block aims to reduce reliance on police departments and move funds from the police department into other areas of the city’s budget to promote a community full of health and safety. Reclaim the Block is asking citizens to sign their petition to defund the Minneapolis Police Department.
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CAMPAIGN ZERO
Support Campaign Zero in their aim to end police violence in America. Campaign Zero is an online organization supporting advocacy for research-based policy solutions. To donate to the efforts of Campaign Zero donate here.
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UNICORN RIOT
As an online non-profit media organization comprised of artists and journalists. Started in 2015, Unicorn Riot contributes efforts to finding the root causes of racial and economic injustices in the United States. Donate today to Unicorn Riot and support their mission in providing real voices from the people alongside crucial context and facts.
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BAIL PROJECT
The Bail Project is a critical tool to prevent incarceration and combat racial and economic disparities in the bail system.
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NATIONAL BAIL FUND NETWORK
The National Bail Fund Network is a national project that works with organizers, advocates, and legal providers across the country that are using, or contemplating using, community bail funds as part of efforts to radically change local bail systems and reduce incarceration.
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THE INNOCENT PROJECT
The Innocence Project is a 501 nonprofit legal organization that is committed to exonerating individuals who it claims have been wrongly convicted through the use of DNA testing and to reforming the criminal justice system to prevent future injustice.
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RUN WITH MAUD
Donations made to Run With Maud will be directed to bringing to justice to Ahmaud Arbery. Ahmaud Arbery was jogging when two white supremacists with deep ties to law enforcement grabbed their guns, hunted him down, and killed him.
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JUSTICE FOR BREONNA
Donations made to the Justice for Breonna fund will go to supporting the fight for and bringing justice to Breonna. Breonna Taylor was an award-winning EMT and first responder in Lousiville, KY, who loved helping her patients and her community.
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ANTI-POLICE TERROR PROJECT
The Anti Police-Terror Project is a Black-led, multi-racial, intergenerational coalition that seeks to build a replicable and sustainable model to eradicate police terror in communities of color.
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COMMUNITY READY CORPS
The Community Ready Corps (CRC) is a liberation organization that actively builds and supports self-determination. The prime objective of the CRC is to build and/or contribute to self-determination in disenfranchised communities.
PETITIONS TO SIGN
- Educate Children on Racism Through School
- Justice for Breonna Taylor
- Raise the Degree
- George Floyd
- Charge All Four Officers
PHONE NUMBERS TO CALL OR TEXT
- Text FLOYD - 55-165
- Text JUSTICE - 66-8336
- Text ENOUGH - 55-165
- Leave a message for Lousiville Mayor and demand justice for Breonna Taylor - 502-574-2003
ORGANIZATIONS TO FOLLOW
- Antiracist Research & Policy Centre
- Audre Lorde Project
- Black Women’s Blueprint
- Color of Change
- Colorlines
- The Conscious Kid
- Equal Justice Initiative
- Families Belong Together
- The Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights
- Muslim Girl
- MPower Change
- NAACP
- National Domestic Workers Alliance
- RAICES
- Showing Up for Racial Injustice
- Sister Song
- United We Dream
DOCUMENTARIES & FILMS TO WATCH
- 13th - Ava Duvernay (Netflix)
- American Son - Kenny Leon (Netflix)
- Dear White People - Justin Simien (Netflix)
- See You Yesterday - Stefon Bristol (Netflix)
- When They See Us - Ava Duvernay (Netflix)
- The Hate U Give - (Hulu)
- If Beale Street Could Talk - (Hulu)
- Black Power Mixtape
- Fruitvale Station
- Green Book
- I Am Not Your Negro
- Just Mercy
- Selma
- Little Fires Everywhere (Hulu, Amazon Prime)
PODCASTS TO SUBSCRIBE TO
- 1619 - by the New York Times
- Code Switch - by NPR
- The Diversity Gap
- Intersectionality Matters
- Momentum: A Race Forward Podcast
- Pod for the Cause
- Pod Save the People
BOOKS TO READ
- Black Feminist Thought, by Patricia Hill Collins
- The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison
- The Warmth of Other Suns, by Isabel Wilkerson
- Just Mercy, by Bryan Stevenson
- Sister Outsider, by Audre Lorde
- Me and White Supremacy, by Layla F. Saad
- Heavy: An American Memoir, by Kiese Laymon
- I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou
- Beloved, by Toni Morrison
BE AN ALLY
- Speak out against injustice
- Identify privilege
- Listen to the POC experience
- Cultivate empathy for the oppressed
- Take action and make a change
OTHER WAYS TO CONTINUE TO TAKE POSITIVE ACTION
- Register to vote
- Check-in on your black friends, family, peers, partners, and colleagues
- Educate yourself on what it means to be anti-racist
- Screenshot, share, repost resources so others around you can become more educated
- Identify your privilege and condemn it. Do not centre the narrative around you
- Stop supporting organizations that promote hate
- Be an ally and advocate after the outrage ends
- Continue to donate and support initiatives you care about, if you have the means
- Don’t remain silent
- Do your research
- Respect Black culture
Based on resources listed by: